Rapper Earl Sweatshirt and producer Samiyam are always looking for the answers to life's more profound questions like, "What's a hideously deformed creature of superhuman size and strength to do after he's eliminated crime from his hometown?" Hopefully they'll find the answer while watching The Toxic Avenger III: The Last Temptation of Toxie, Troma Entertainment's third installment in their cult-classic series. The pair picked up a pile of Troma DVDs, including such think pieces as Mad Cow, Viral Assassins, and Redneck Zombies, as well as a healthy and eclectic stack of records on their recent visit to Amoeba Hollywood. All the while the two gave out some good sampling tips and Ethiopian food recommendations.

Record Store Day 2015 is upon us, taking place Saturday, April 18. The list of limited edition releases coming out exclusively on Record Store Day is up now (download the full list here). While there’s tons of great stuff to choose from (while supplies last, of course), here are 12 highlights to look for.

Neko Case released her best album in 2006, a perfect distillation of her country-meets-indie-rock style, featuring the ethereal and confessional “Hold On, Hold On,” ’50s-style ballad “That Teenage Feeling” and Biblically inspired “John Saw That Number.” The long-out-of-print LP comes on red vinyl with a Record Store Day slipmat.

Head to the Vinyl Beat website to check out extensive LP label guides and wild cover galleries!

A friend said that gospel music was soul music for black folk and that mainstream soul music was music made for a white audience. The implication being that if you wanted to hear music with real soul, listen to gospel.

Generally speaking, gospel reflected whatever musical trend was happening in R&B music. Gospel music was a little rougher and less polished than secular music, and of course the theme was religious, but otherwise it was relatively easy for artists to cross back and forth between the two styles. And besides, most black pop and soul artists grew up singing in the church.

Head to the Vinyl Beat website to check out extensive LP label guides and wild cover galleries!

Name the only gospel singer to have a million-selling soul hit record with a country song, which also happened to have been written by Willie Nelson.

That would be Joe Hinton, who grew up in the church singing in various gospel groups and eventually became the lead singer in the Spirit of Memphis Quartet. He had a number of great singles with them during the period when they recorded for Peacock Records, a subsidiary of Houston's Duke Records.

If It Ain’t One Thing (It’s Another) – The Spirit Of Memphis Quartet

Lost In Sin – The Spirit Of Memphis Quartet

Noting Joe’s huge talent, Duke Records owner Don Robey decided to try some secular tunes with him on his Back Beat subsidiary. After a few misses they had a monster hit with “Funny How Time Slips Away,” AKA “Funny” as they called it on the label. You’ll want to listen all the way through on this one.

Amoeba Music and CIIS Public Programs & Performances present Soweto Gospel Choir on April 5th at the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco.

Thursday, April 5, 2012
8:00PM
Herbst Theatre, San Francisco
$25/$35/$50/$75
Get tickets HERE or call 415.392.4400
Group discounts available for 10 or more!

"(The choir) has a cornucopia of remarkable voices: sharp, sweet, kindly, raspy and incantatory leads above a magnificently velvety blend.....the music was both meticulous and unstoppable.....the songs were both spirited and spectacular" - New York Times

They're back! With their vibrant dance and dynamic vocal harmonies, the Grammy Award-winning Soweto Gospel Choir is a worldwide phenomenon. The choir was formed to celebrate the unique and inspirational power of African gospel music. The twenty-six-member-strong ensemble draws on the best talent from the many churches in and around Soweto, South Africa. The choir has performed to sell-out crowds at major concert halls across the globe, and alongside such superstars as Bono, Queen, Aretha Franklin, and Stevie Wonder. The ensemble is dedicated to sharing the joy of faith through music with audiences around the world.